New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she plans to sign a measure to legalize medically assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. (Julia Nikhinson, File/AP Photo)
New York will join a dozen other states and Washington, D.C., in adopting laws allowing physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill adults, including Delaware and Illinois, which each approved legislation this year that will go into effect in 2026.
Several other countries, including Canada, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Australia and Colombia, have also legalized so-called death with dignity.
New York’s bill, dubbed the Medical Aid in Dying Act, requires a terminally ill person who is expected to die within six months to make a written request for life-ending drugs. Two witnesses must sign the request to ensure the patient is not being coerced, and the request would need to be approved by the patient's attending physician and a consulting physician.
The bill's sponsors and legislative leaders have agreed to add provisions to mandate that a medical doctor affirms that the person "truly had less than six months to live," along with confirmation from a psychologist or psychiatrist that the patient is capable of making the decision without being under duress.
"The Medical Aid in Dying Act will afford terminally ill New Yorkers the right to spend their final days not under sterile hospital lights but with sunlight streaming through their bedroom window," Hochul wrote.
"The right to spend their final days not hearing the droning hum of hospital machines but instead the laughter of their grandkids echoing in the next room. The right to tell their family they love them and be able to hear those precious words in return," she added.
The governor said she wants the bill to only apply to New York residents. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
"Who am I to deny you or your loved one what they’re begging for at the end of their life?" she said. "I couldn’t do that any longer."
The legislation was first introduced in 2016 but failed to receive approval for years as religious groups such as the New York State Catholic Conference sought to block the measure, arguing that it would devalue human life and undermine the physician’s role as a healer.
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Cardinal Timothy Dolan and New York's bishops said in a statement after Hochul's announcement that her support for the bill "signals our government’s abandonment of its most vulnerable citizens, telling people who are sick or disabled that suicide in their case is not only acceptable, but is encouraged by our elected leaders."
But supporters of the legislation contended that it would reduce suffering for terminally ill people and allow them to die on their own terms.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ny-gov-hochul-sign-bill-legalize-physician-assisted-suicide-who-am-i-deny-you